How to Improve Your Credit Score by 100 Points in 30 Days
Online platforms give you the same old advice for improving your credit.
However, it is possible to raise your FICO score in just 30 days. Many people have done it successfully.
The following eight steps will see your credit score improve significantly.
Know Your Credit Score First
Before you get started, you need to access your credit report. You should also seek to know what your FICO score is with the three major credit bureaus. According to the law, you can access your credit report for free once a year. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com, it is a government website.
For free credit scores, visit Credit Karma or Credit Sesame. For convenience, download the apps so you can see your scores whenever you want and receive credit alerts.
Look for Negative Accounts
Once you have received your credit report, carefully go through it, highlighting all the negative accounts. Identify credit inquiries and late payments too. You also need to check and ensure that all personal information is correct (your phone number, employer or address).
Pay Off Credit Card Balances
Your credit card debt compared to the limit of the card is what is called the credit utilization ratio. You would do yourself some good to keep it below 15% at all times. It accounts for 30% of your FICO score. A high credit card debt will greatly hurt your credit score.
Pay off all your credit card balances or get them very close to zero.
If you have no credit card, you need to apply for one or two. With a bad credit, this will be difficult. The best way to go about this is to get a secured credit card.
Talk to Collection Agencies
If you can clear the balances on your collection bills, call the collection agencies and request for pay to delete. This means that if you pay the outstanding balances, they will permanently delete the negative account. It will no longer appear on your report. Make sure you get this agreement in writing.
Completely Remove the Account from Your Report If the Collection Agency Won’t Complete
Failing to pay a debt completely may seem immoral to many people. Skip this step if you are not comfortable with it.
A collection account negatively affects your score even when it has zero balance. Do not bother paying off a collection agency if they do not agree to a “pay for delete”.
Dispute Negative Account Information
If a creditor fails to verify any negative account information within 30 days, they are required by law to remove it.
Dispute Credit Inquiries
Hard inquiries will be on your report for 24 months and will negatively affect your score in 12 of those months. Disputing them, however, can see them get removed.
Become an Authorized User
As an authorized user in a credit card, you will benefit if the card holder has responsible financial habits. It will improve your credit score by a few points.
